On April 23, Deadline Records (a division of Cleopatra Records) will release a special edition of THE FLESH AND BLOOD SESSIONS from War & Peace. The collection includes an unreleased track and liner notes from Jeff Pilson.

War & Peace is the all-star line-up of Jeff Pilson (Dokken, Dio, Foreigner) on lead vocals and guitar, Vinny Appice (Black Sabbath, Dio, Kill Devil Hill) on drums, Michael Diamond (Legs Diamond) on bass, and Randy Hansen on lead guitar.

THE FLESH AND BLOOD SESSIONS contains the original 1988 studio sessions recorded at the legendary Sound City Studios by Angelo Arcuri (Black Sabbath, Dio, Hellion) and mixed by Neil Kernon (Dokken, Queensryche, Kansas), as well as five tracks chiefly put together by Jeff Pilson in the mid 1990s.

Re-mastered by Wyn Davis (Dokken, Dio), THE FLESH AND BLOOD SESSIONS re-issue comes with all new artwork, liner notes by Jeff Pilson, and includes an exclusive bonus track, “Heaven Knows”, featuring guitarist Darren Housholder (Love/Hate), not found on the original 1999 release. Making a guest appearance on “What I Hid Behind” is Robin McAuley, with whom Jeff was working in MSG.

Jeff Pilson is a prolific musician, a multi-instrumentalist who has been in internationally-recognized bands almost his entire career. As evidenced by the musical fire power in War & Peace, Pilson’s collaborations lead to material that holds up in today’s heavy music environment. “To this day I’m frequently asked about this period of the band and thought that putting out this CD could answer many questions,” said Jeff.

Their bio says they write “trend free music” and what we get to hear are “Real grooves, real performances, real rock.” I’d say that description is
pretty dead on. If there’s one thing that irritates the hell out of me, it’s the over computerized, over produced, overly generic music that’s being pushed out to the world on a daily basis. You certainly won’t get any of that with S.U.N.’s (Something Unto Nothing) self titled debut album.

Sass Jordan (vocals), Brian Tichy (guitar), Michael “Denim” Devin (bass), and Tommy Stewart (drums) make up this quartet with quite an extensive resume: Billboard’s Best Female Rock Vocalist award, songs on major motion pictures and television shows, and time spent in Whitesnake, Foreigner and Billy Idol…just to name a few. With talent like that, you almost can’t go wrong.

Upon listening, the first thing you’re going to notice (because you just can’t ignore it) is Sass’ powerful voice. It’s strong and beautiful in that Janis Joplin kind of way. It’s not dripping with femininity. It’s dirty and gruff and fits perfectly.

The next thing you’ll notice are the solid rock and roll grooves. It’s the kind of sound that makes you tap your foot and bounce your head to the beat because it’s real rock and roll and you can’t help but get into it. There’s dirty, thick guitar all throughout the album, but it pulls you in right from the start with “Burned” and “Crazy Head.” Then you get hit with some Sabbath-y heavy rock during “Nomad.” And if you’re looking for a little 80’s rock influence, you can find it on “I’m the One.”

Where I feel the album falls short is on the ballads like “Wide Ocean” or “If I was You.” Don’t get me wrong, they’re good songs, but they just don’t hold up as well and they’re not as strong as the other songs. S.U.N. are just more powerful when they are rocking faces off.

There’s no doubt that S.U.N. is real, soulful rock and roll. This debut album is a really good, solid foundation that they should be able to build great things on. It makes me excited to see what the future holds for them. They just need to remember not to succumb to making radio friendly music because it sells; they should continue to make solid rock and roll because that’s what makes them shine.

Rating: Out of 10

Track Listing:

1. Burned
2. Crazy Head
3. Nomad
4. Did Me No Good
5. Mobile Again
6. I’m The One
7. If I Was You
8. The Beginning Of The End (The Journey of The Phrygians from Madrid)
9. Razed
10. Wide Ocean
11. No Way Home
12. Something Unto Nothing
13. Goodbye